- •1. The land of the us: geography, the face of the land, mountain and rivers, weather and climate.
- •2. The people of the usa: population, the society. Ellis Island - Gateway to America. Contribution of the immigrants to the national identity.
- •"Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,....
- •A new era, a new mission
- •3. The regions of the us: the Northeast, the Central Basin, the Southeast, the Great Plains.
- •The Regions of the United States The Northeast
- •4. Discovery of America. American Indians - the accomplishments of the Iroquois, the Sioux, the Pueblo; great civilizations of the Mayas, Aztecs and Incas.
- •5. The History of the usa: Columbus or Vikings? Exploring and settling the New World: Spanish, Dutch and French territories in North America. Russian discovery of America.
- •French colonization of the Americas
- •6. The voyage of the Mayflower, Pylgrims and Puritans. Virginia Company with the right to colonise the South and the Plymouth Company with the right to colonise the North.
- •Pilgrims' voyage
- •Second Mayflower
- •Virginia Company
- •The Plymouth Company
- •7. Britain and the colonies. Jamestown colony, the dramatic history of Virginia.
- •8. The move to independence: the colonies in their fight to protect their liberties, the Tea Act and Boston Tea Party.
- •First Continental Congress
- •Second Continental Congress
- •10. The Founding Fathers of the nation (g. Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, Samuel Adams, James Madison, Benjamin Franklin).
- •Collective biography of the Framers of the Constitution
- •11. Constitution of the us, structure and main principles. Bill of rights.
- •The First Constitution
- •Louisiana Purchase
- •Florida Purchase
- •Republic of Texas
- •Alaska Purchase
- •13. The Civil War - the reasons, the process, the generals, the battles the consequences. The Emancipation Proclamation. The role of a. Lincoln. The Gettysburg address.
- •The reasons of the Civil War.
- •How many Generals were there?
- •List of u.S. Army generals and chief staff officers in early 1861 Line officers
- •Staff Officers
- •Lincoln's role
- •14. Afterwar peiod (Reconstruction), the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments to the constitution. Carpetbaggers, Ku-Klux-Klan. What did Reconstruction fail?
- •15. America at the turn of the century: Foreign policy - the fight for new colonies: Venezuelan conflict, Cuban crisis, Hawaii, Guam, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, the Panama Isthmus.
- •16. The Manifest Destiny, Monroe's Doctrine, Olney (or Roosevelt) Collorary.
- •17. Economic development: "captains of industry", industrialization. "The Square Deal" of Theodore Roosevelt and "The New Freedom" of w. Wilson. The us - a world leader.
- •List of businessmen who were called robber barons
- •U.S. Industrialization
- •History
- •18. America in the World War I. The League of Nations.
- •19. The roaring twenties. The rush for wealth. The movies. The bootleggers. Prohibition.
- •20. The Great Depression and the New Deal. The difference of the Roosevelt Administration from all previous administrations.
- •21. America before and at the time of the World War II. Hirishima 1945: right or wrong?
- •22. After the wwii: prodperity and problems - presidencies of Truman, Eisenhower and Kennedy. "McCarthyism". Cold War with the Soviet Union.
- •23. Korean War, the birth of Nato, the War in Vietnam, crisis over Cuba.
- •24. The American century - the Americanization of the world. Mail Concepts of American Business.
- •27. The symbols of the us: the Statue of Liberty, the White house, the Library of Congress, the American Flag, the national Anthem.
- •28. Churches in the usa. America as a shelter for many people oppressed in their native countries for their religious beliefs. The role of religion in the us.
- •28. The main concepts of American Education.
- •30. The American Character: its origin and development. Values in the american character.
- •30. Cities of the us: Washington - planned city, New York (Big Apple) and its boroughs.
- •Economy
- •State finances
30. The American Character: its origin and development. Values in the american character.
Generally speaking, Americans are an open and friendly people. The public behavior of Americans is probably more unrestrained and less reserved than that of some other nationalities. For example, it is perfectly normal for Americans to talk loudly, joke, and smile in public. Americans are not particularly concerned with strictly controlling the behavior of their children when in public. This may be something of a surprise, or even an irritation to visitors.
Informality is one of the hallmarks of the American character. Americans tend to be informal in both their public and private lives. When meeting Americans, you do not have to be mindful of some elaborate or subtle ritual. All that is needed is a firm handshake and a look straight in the eye. "Nice to meet you" is all you need to say. And at home Americans are similarly unceremonious. When you come to an American's home, you will probably be offered something to drink then be given a tour of the premises. Meals are often very straight-forward, and may only consist of one course. On special occasions, such as holidays, Americans will be more likely to eat several course meals.
Americans are not by any means uniform in their outward behavior. Although it is always risky to make generalizations, it seems that people from the Northeast are somewhat more reserved than Midwesterners, who are often veiy direct and are especially famous for their friendliness. Southerners have their own traditions and customs. The South has long been renowned for the value it places on hospitality, gentility, and manners. Westerner's, by comparison, are probably more informal than all the rest.
Although it is relatively easy to get to know Americans on first meeting them, it usually takes some time to establish a lasting relationship. The ease with which Americans establish initial relations can be deceptive; they will not necessarily invite you to their homes the first time you get acquainted with them.
Individualism is certainly the single most important feature of the American character. Indeed, it would be hard to overestimate the significance of individualism in America. Individualism, or so-called "rugged individualism", is undoubtedly the source of many of the country's accomplishments. Americans tend to want to do things on then- own and to be self-reliant. Consequently, they are often suspicious of any kind of governmental or bureaucratic interference in their- lives. In extreme cases, this may result in the failure to do certain things as a community that cannot be accomplished by individuals acting on their own. On the other hand, the tremendous energy of American society probably has as one of its most important motivating forces just this powerful and ever present individualism.
Another distinctive American characteristic is pragmatism. This means that Americans, if given a choice, prefer to do what is practical. Americans are fond of common sense, but they are not particularly interested in theoiy, abstract reasoning, or philosophy. If something works, do it; if it doesn't work, try something else.